Pregnant, With Twins, on the Campaign Trail

Virginia state Rep. Jennifer Carroll Foy reflects on her first year in office and how she got there.

Virginia Rep. Jennifer Carroll Foy, left, campaigning for another candidate with her twins by her side. (Twitter/Jennifer Carroll Foy)

In honor of the midterms, the next couple episodes of "The 23%" will be dedicated to what happens when women run for office and win. This time, we’re talking to Jennifer Carroll Foy, who was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates last fall when a wave of women took state and local seats across the country.

Like many of this year's female candidates, Foy says she was inspired to run by the election of President Donald Trump and the policies his administration has pursued.

"I knew I wanted to be the change I wanted to see. Once I have my eyes set on something, it’s not about if, it’s about when," she says.

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Foy was so determined to run that she didn't let being pregnant with twins slow her down.

"I knocked on thousands of doors, met the same standards [of other politicians] and just stayed focused," she says. "But I did it with swollen ankles and two lives inside of me."

On this episode of "The 23%: Conversations With Women in Government," Foy talks about how her time at the Virginia Military Institute, the last military academy to start accepting women which she calls "a horrible place to be but a wonderful place to be from," prepared her for a career in politics. She also reflects on what she accomplished her first year in office -- like expanding Medicaid and making it easier for foster parents to adopt the children who are placed in their homes.